Mr. Emerson's Cook

By Judy Schachner

Book Overview

Your work should be in praise of what you love. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

When Annie Burns, newly arrived from Ireland, takes a job as cook to Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson, it is almost more than she can manage. For the brilliant Mr. Emerson is not interested at all in the food she makes. This poet prefers the warm colors of the sunset to a warm bowl of soup, and he professes to live by imagination alone.

Annie is afraid she will fail in her job. But she solves her dilemma by taking inspiration from the great man himself. It is only when she lets loose her own poetic imagination that she achieves the success Mr. Emerson writes about so stirringly.

This story, which weaves fact and fiction, is as rich and satisfying as the warm apple pie that Annie cooks. With lyrical language that begs to be read aloud and illustrations full of whimsy and warmth, this book extols not only the extraordinary Mr. Emerson but the power of imagination to find the magic in a starry night and the sunshine in a cook's creations. Young readers will want to explore again and again Mr. Emerson's world as portrayed in the heartfelt book.

Judith Byron Schachner is the great-granddaughter of Annie Burns Byron, Ralph Waldo Emerson's cook. She is the author and illustrator of The Grannyman, bits & pieces, and the Skippyjon Jones series. Ms. Schachner lives with her family in Pennsylvania.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1948959887
• ISBN13: 9781948959889
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Purple House Press
• Length: 34 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 11.0" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 6 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 7

Customer Reviews

A delightful picture book for the young and not-so-young

Annie Burns arrives in the U.S. from Ireland and immediately takes the job of cook in the Emerson house in Concord, Massachusetts. At first she's not so sure about working for a philosopher who would rather watch sunrises than taste her homemade pies. But after she writes a questioning letter to her mother, she receives a reply that stirs her imagination. Soon she succeeds in enticing Mr. Emerson to eat what she puts on the table. Author Judith Byron Schachner is a descendant of Annie Burns, and it's evident she tells this story with love and respect. The text is Transcendentalism in its most basic form. The illustrations are colorful and lively. Teens and adults can relate to the nuances of the plot, while the younger set can study the animals that appear in every scene. The chickens are wearing the booties that Thoreau made for them, and the cats are as playful on these pages as their breed can be in real life. A successful foray into the world of the Concord authors!

A Beautiful Book!

I just returned from the first day of the NCTE conference in NYC where I attended a session on using picture books in the secondary classroom in conjunction with American classics. Judith Byron Schachner was in attendance and read her wonderful book in a mellifluous Irish brogue. This book is not just for young children. It is a terrific way to introduce high school students to Emerson and Transcendentalism.